BHSU staff member leads local student ballooning team to help NASA learn about life on Mars

Last year, NASA reached out to a group of local students to help them conduct an experiment that could help us understand where life could survive beyond Earth. On August 21, a group of local students joined with more than 50 other teams to release a balloon to the furthest reaches of the atmosphere – almost to outer space – to livestream the solar eclipse and carry bacteria for a NASA experiment.

Dr. Peggy Norris, Black Hills State University Deputy Director of Education and Outreach at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, led a team of area undergraduate and high school students to Scottsbluff, Neb. for their balloon launch. This was Norris’ 15th viewing of a total solar eclipse.

“This project gave the students a taste of what a complicated engineering endeavor entails,” said Norris, and how teams of scientists and engineers with many different skills come together to solve problems and work towards a common goal.

The balloon carried several payloads for both scientific measurements as well as cameras and instruments to track and communicate to the balloon. The students who took responsibility for the NASA biology experiment will be included in any papers that are published with the results.

The South Dakota Solar Eclipse team was organized in response to a call from NASA for student teams to take part in this project, with funding through the South Dakota Space Grant Consortium.

"Performing a coordinated balloon microbiology experiment across the entire continental United States seems impossible under normal circumstances," said David J. Smith of NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, the lead scientist for the experiment. "The solar eclipse on August 21 is enabling unprecedented exploration through citizen scientists and students."

As the Moon passed in front of the Sun during the eclipse, casting a shadow across the continental U.S., the balloons not only had a front-row seat to record the historic event, but they also exposed the harmless bacteria they carried to the closest conditions to Mars possible on Earth.

Mars’ atmosphere is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s, with cooler temperatures and more radiation. Because the edge of our atmosphere is above most of Earth’s protective ozone layer, it’s exposed to greater levels of radiation – more than Mars – and it's cold and thin. However, during the eclipse, the similarities to Mars increased. The Moon buffered the full blast of radiation and heat from the Sun, blocked certain ultraviolet rays that are less abundant in the Martian atmosphere and brought the temperature down even further.

So, even though a postcard from the Atacama Desert or other places on Earth may look more Martian, for a biologist the place most similar to the Red Planet is less than 20 miles above our heads, especially during the eclipse. By sending up bacteria, scientists are able to see how life reacts to a Mars-like environment, giving us a sense of how likely it is that bacterial life could exist on Mars, and what form it might take.

Smith said that post-eclipse we now have about 10 times more samples to analyze than all previously flown stratosphere microbiology missions combined.

Students like the local team have been in close communication with scientists and interns from the Space Life Science Training Program at Ames. Each team received its own customized instructions and equipment depending on each balloon’s design, with variations in material ranging from cardboard to foam, requiring different adhesives.

The non-hazardous bacteria is stored in special metal cards, no bigger than a military dog tag, which will be attached to the balloons. It was originally discovered living in the soil near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, in the 1970s.

On the day of the eclipse, teams conducted their launches independently, while NASA’s equipment collected data alongside their own. A GPS tracker allowed the launch teams to follow their balloons from the ground.

Once the balloons reached the edge of the atmosphere, where they popped, a parachute brought the payload down to Earth. Teams chased down and recovered the returning equipment, and will send it back to Smith’s research team. NASA’s team will then analyze the samples, testing not only for bacterial survival, but genetic and biological change.

The results will help biologists take the next step in understanding the conditions that sustain life on this planet, and may help NASA better target locations to look for life on other worlds.

The Jacket Pack is back! Black Hills State University invites the community to celebrate the return of students to campus Aug. 17 during BHSU Night at Downtown Friday Nights on Main Street in Spearfish.

Can you escape for four days? Black Hills State University-Rapid City student Chris Pelczarski can. Chris is a Jewel Cave explorer. When he’s not mapping new cave passages in Jewel Cave near Custer, you can find him taking classes at Black Hills State University-Rapid City.

Black Hills State University received approval from the South Dakota Board of Regents today to offer a new associate of science degree in business administration. Students may begin enrolling in the program immediately.

Alyson Wiedrich was going to college at Black Hills State University in Spearfish when she moved to Rapid City for a job opportunity with Regional Health. Rather than quit school because of distance, Alyson finished her business degree at BHSU-Rapid City and earned a promotion along the way.

Community invited to celebrate BHSU Night downtown Aug. 17

The Jacket Pack is back! Black Hills State University invites the community to celebrate the return of students to campus Aug. 17 during BHSU Night at Downtown Friday Nights on Main Street in Spearfish.

Cave explorer prepares for grad program with classes at BHSU-Rapid City

Can you escape for four days? Black Hills State University-Rapid City student Chris Pelczarski can. Chris is a Jewel Cave explorer. When he’s not mapping new cave passages in Jewel Cave near Custer, you can find him taking classes at Black Hills State University-Rapid City.

Associate degree in business now offered at BHSU and BHSU-Rapid City

Black Hills State University received approval from the South Dakota Board of Regents today to offer a new associate of science degree in business administration. Students may begin enrolling in the program immediately.

Degree from BHSU-Rapid City leads to promotion for Regional Health employee

Alyson Wiedrich was going to college at Black Hills State University in Spearfish when she moved to Rapid City for a job opportunity with Regional Health. Rather than quit school because of distance, Alyson finished her business degree at BHSU-Rapid City and earned a promotion along the way.

BHSU students the first Americans to study at Chinese university in Hebei

Black Hills State University students made history last month as the first Americans to study at Baoding University in Hebei, China. The students visited China for three weeks as the capstone to their “Drawing in China” course offered by BHSU.

Nepal and South Dakota: The path to a nursing degree begins with BHSU-Rapid City

Their stories are vastly different; their goal is the same: To become a nurse. Two emerging healthcare professionals share their path to the nursing profession with Black Hills State University-Rapid City.

Sturgis Rally shuttle driver pursues degree at Black Hills State in Rapid City

Many locals have a “Rally Job.” Here’s one local resident Sturgis Rally participants might meet amongst the motorcycles and fanfare: Dennis Morton, secondary education major at Black Hills State University-Rapid City.

Online master’s in education programs at BHSU recognized for quality and affordability

Black Hills State University is ranked sixth among the top 20 affordable master's in curriculum and instruction online programs for 2018 by Best Value Schools. In a separate ranking, the online master’s in education in reading at BHSU was also ranked 19th among the top 25 programs of its kind. BHSU was the only South Dakota university listed in the rankings.

Mark Larscheid Memorial Golf Tournament adds to scholarship at Black Hills State University

The 18th Annual Mark Larscheid Memorial Golf Tournament was held recently at Spearfish Canyon Golf Club. The proceeds from this year’s Memorial Golf Tournament, silent auction and donations totaled $6,300. This brings the amount in the Mark Larscheid Memorial Scholarship to $74,900 at BHSU. This year’s scholarship recipient was Whitney Scott, a graphic design major and pole vaulter from Watertown.

Find your voice: Presenting Ideas with Competence Workshop Series

The South Dakota Center for Enterprise Opportunity (SD CEO) is proud to announce the upcoming workshop series: Find Your Voice: Presenting Ideas with Competence. The two full-day events are August 16 and August 23 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Black Hills State University-Rapid City.

Black Hills State ranked in top 10 among 50 best online business degrees

Black Hills State University was ranked ninth in the nation on a list of 50 of the best online Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree programs for 2018 by Best Value Schools. BHSU is the only South Dakota school included in the ranking.

Farley named Dean of the BHSU College of Business and Natural Sciences

Black Hills State University welcomed Dr. Greg Hunt Farley as Dean of the College of Business and Natural Sciences at BHSU, effective June 22. Farley brings to BHSU three years of experience as inaugural Dean of the College of Science, Technology and Mathematics at Fort Hays State University in Kansas.

Wyoming educator’s impact inspires scholarship legacy at BHSU

The Guthmiller and Burgess families donated $10,000 to the Black Hills State University Foundation to create the Betty Lloyd Memorial Scholarship Endowment at BHSU. An annual scholarship will be awarded to a junior or senior at BHSU majoring in Elementary Education. Preference will be given to students from Casper, Wyo. The first award will be given the fall of 2018.

Black Hills State University will waive the application fee for all new students who apply for admission to the University during Downtown Friday Nights in Spearfish. “If you stop by our booth and apply that night, we’ll waive your $20 application fee,” said Beth Oaks, director of admissions.